Voluntary Manslaughter - Dimished Responsability

Question 1

What is voluntary manslaughter

Answer 1

Diminished responsibility and loss of control are partial and specific defences to murder

Reduce a murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter

Question 2

S2(1) of the homicide act 1957

Explains what

Answer 2

A person who kills or is party to the killing of another is not to be convicted of murder if he was suffering from…

Abnormality of mental functioning

Arose from a recognised medical condition

Substantially impaired Ds ability to understand conduct, rational judgment, self control

Provides an explanation

Question 3

Byrne

Explains what

Answer 3

Abnormality of mental functioning

State of mind so different from that of an ordinary human being that the reasonable man should term it abnormal “

Question 4

R v Gittens

R v Wood

R v Simcox

Explain what

Answer 4

Cause of abnormality of mental functioning

Recognised medical condition
World Health Organisation

Gittens - depression
Wood - alcoholism
Simcox - paranoia

Question 5

Golds

Explains what?

Answer 5

Substantially impaired
- D mental responsibility for his act or omission

Understand conduct - automatic state

Rational judgement - paranoid

Gold - suffering more than minimal

Question 6

The 4th step of Diminished responsibility

1. Abnormality
2. Cause
3. Substantially impaired
   4.

Answer 6

Provides an explanation of conduct

• causal connection between abnormality and killing
• significant factor

Question 7

4 possibilities of where the D’s action could be connected to intoxication

Answer 7

Voluntarily

Brain damage due to alcohol misuse

Recognised medical condition and intoxicated

Involuntary intoxicated

Question 8

Di Duca

Dowds

Explains what

Answer 8

Temporary voluntary intoxication through drink or drugs alone cannot be used for finished responsibility

Di Duca - effect is transient

Dowds - he could choose to drink

Question 9

Wood

Tandy

Explain what

Answer 9

D has brain damage due to alcohol
- must he alcohol dependency syndrome or something similar

Drinking must be involuntary

Wood - ADS, his brain might not have been damaged

Tandy - had control over consumption

Question 10

Dietshmann

Explains what

Answer 10

Mental abnormality was substantially impairing at the time of killing

Has D satisfied you that despite the drink his mental abnormality substantially impaired his responsibility for Act